WORLD BOOK DAY 2019

The Mabinogi: A Book of Essays
Edited by C. W. Sullivan III
First published 1996 by Garland Press
Reissued in 2015 by Routledge Revivals

The Lost Tale of Dylan in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi

"Throughout the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, the mystical Otherworld encroaches upon the realm of mortal kind, and one of the more powerful appearances of it takes the form of animals that participate in metamorphoses with human figures. These can signify an Otherworld incursion into mortal nature in several different ways. They can signal a thinning of the barriers between the realms of the Otherworld and this world; they can represent characteristics associated with the mysteries of fertility and tribal magic; and they can appear to enhance or, at times, take the place of the principal figures in the tales. It is this third role of Otherworld animals that I wish to concentrate on, because among the many named, and hence characterised animal shapes into which figures are transformed, we come across an unnamed animal whose dis-closure may shed light on the puzzle of the lost tale of Dylan in the Fourth Branch." - Sarah Larratt Keefer


The purpose of this collection, which was first published in 1996, is to provide both an overview of the major critical approaches to the Four Branches of the Mabinogi and a selection of the best essays dealing with them. The essays examine the origins of the Mabinogion, comparative analyses, and structural and thematic interpretations. This book is ideal for students of literature and Medieval studies.

Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction

Part 1: Origins
1. The Mabinogion and  Lady Charlotte Guest Rachel Bromwich
2. The Date of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi T. M. Charles-Edwards;

Part 2: Comparative Analysis 
3. The Calumniated Wife in Medieval Welsh Literature Juliette Wood
4. The Lost Tale of Dylan in the Fourth Branch of The Mabinogi Sarah Larratt Keefer
5. Branwen: A Study of the Celtic Affinities Patrick K. Ford
6. Manawydan fab Llyr: Wales, England, and the "New Man" Andrew Welsh;

Part 3: Structural Interpretations
7. A Thematic Study of the Tale Pwyll Pendeuic Dyuet Sean O Coileain
8. Pwyll Prince of Dyfed: the narrative structure Elizabeth Hanson-Smith
9. The Structure of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi J. K. Bollard
10. Prolegomena to a Reading of the Mabinogi: "Pwyll" and "Manawydan" Patrick K. Ford
11. Narrative Structure in Medieval Welsh Prose Tales R. M. Jones; Thematic Interpretations;
12. Thematic Structure in the Four Branches of the Mabinogi Jeffrey Gantz
13. The Role of the Myth and Tradition in The Four Branches of the Mabinogi J. K. Bollard
14. The Theme of Sovereignty in Pwyll Catherine A. McKenna
15. Gwydion and Aranrhod: Crossing the Borders of Gender in Math Roberta L. Valente
16. Inheritance and Lordship in Math C. W. Sullivan III

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* * *

Ardudwy: Land of Legend

History and Legend

Ardudwy is the ancient name of the area which extends from near Beddgelert in northern Snowdonia (Eryri), to Barmouth in the south, stretching from Harlech in the west to Trawsfynydd in the east. Ardudwy in Gwynedd, Wales, is a region rich in folk tales; every hill, every rock has a story to tell.

Ardudwy, a fertile swathe of pasture land lying between the coast of Tremadog Bay and the Rhinog mountains (Rhinogydd), was part of the ancient kingdom of Gwynedd known as Dunoding, traditionally named after one of the sons of Cunedda Wledig who came down from the Old North in the 5th century to expel Irish settlers from the area. According to The Harleian MS 3859, Cunedda had eight sons who gave their names to areas of Wales, such as Meirionydd and Ceredigion. The 9th century Historia Brittonum recalls:

“.....Cunedag, with his sons, whose number was eight, had come previously from the northern part, that is from the region which is called Manau Gododdin, one hundred and forty-six years before Maelgwn reigned. And with great slaughter they drove out from those regions the Scotti who never returned again to inhabit them.”

Maelgwn of Gwynedd, Gildas' Maglocunus, the 'Dragon of the island',  appears in the genealogies as Cunedda’s great-grandson, and the Welsh Annals (Annales Cambriae) record his obit during the 'great mortality' of 547 AD. We have no record of when Maelgwn commenced his reign, however, 146 years before his death brings us to the time of the ending of Roman Britain, at the very beginning of the 5th century.

The legend of lands founded by Cunedda and his sons
(after Koch: Celtic Culture, 2006)

It has been suggested that the migration from Manau Gododdin in the north was part of the policy of Gildas' superbus tyrannus (Bede's Vortigern) to protect Britain from the attacks of the Picts and Scotti following the Roman withdrawal. Yet, the Historia Brittonum states the interval was 146 years before Maelgwn's reign, so we must be looking for a considerably earlier time. Maelgwn must have commenced his reign around the beginning of the 6th century pushing the time of the migration back to around 370- 380 AD, the time of the Theodosian restoration of Britannia following the Barbarian Conspiracy of 367 AD, a simultaneous attack by Saxons, Attacotti, Picts and Scotti, recorded by the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus.

The Irish settlements in late Roman to post-Roman Wales are attested by Ogam inscriptions and place-name evidence such as the derivation of the name of the Llyn peninsula from Primitive Irish *Legeni, i.e. Laigin = ‘Leinstermen’. Further, Cunedda's sons, the migration to Wales  and the war with the Irish do not figure at all in the archaic Welsh elegy Marwnad Cunedda (Death-song of Cunedda) found in the Llyfr Taliesin (Book of Taliesin). Consequently, the story of Cunedda's migration to Gwynedd is generally considered an origin legend rather than an historical event.

Setting of the Mabinogion Tales
North Wales holds a special affinity for the distinguished Hispanic general Magnus Maximus famed for his part in the recovery of Northern Britain following the Barbarian Conspiracy and defeating an incursion of Picts and Scots in 381. Maximus is often named as the Roman general who brought Cunedda to north Wales. Maximus was proclaimed Emperor by the army in  Britannia in 383 AD and is accused by Gildas of stripping the island of her military forces and 'the flower of her youth' when crossing to Gaul in pursuit of his short-lived ambitions; he was executed five years later.

Evidence of his popularity in early medieval Wales is found in traditional tales where he is remembered as Mascen Wledig, and appears in the genealogical records, an early example of which can be found on the 9th century ‘Pillar of Eliseg’ at Valle Crucis by Llangollen, which claims the marriage of his daughter Sevira to Vortigern, king of the Britons.

Lady Guest's 19th century collection of native tales known as the Mabinogion preserves the memory of Magnus Maximus in the tale of the Dream of Mascen Wledig which features Caer Seint, the Roman fort of Segontium, "the fort at the mouth of the Seiont,"  at Caernarfon.

Segontium overlooking Caernarfon

This is Mabinogion country and Ardudwy features prominently in the Welsh mythologies. In The Third Branch of the Mabinogi, Bendigeidfran holds court at Harlech, and his severed head returns there for seven years before it is taken on to Gwales. In The Fourth Branch, Lleu Llaw Gyffes built his palace on the other side of the Rhinogs at Mur-y-Castell in Ardudwy and lived here with his beautiful wife Blodeuedd, the flower maiden, created by Math and Gwydion. It is near here, at the River Cynfael that Lleu is hit by the poisoned spear of his adversary Gron and takes flight as an eagle. Gwydion finds him further north in an oak tree at Nantle, near Snowdon.

Mur-y-Castell was originally built by the Romans and known as Tomen-y-Mur (Mound in the Walls) on the slope of Mynydd Maentwrog to the north east of Llyn Trawsfynydd, with access from A470. The Roman fort stood in a prominent position on the road from Brithdir (near Dolgellau) to Segontium. Off the B4391 is Llyn Morwynion (the Maidens' Lake), which, according to the Mabinogion, is where Blodeuedd's Maidens of Ardudwy drowned whilst fleeing from the wizard Gwydion and the men of Gwynedd. Gwydion turned Blodeuedd in to an owl. An alternative folk tale of  Llyn y Morwynion can be found in The Men of Ardudwy included in W. Jenkyn Thomas' The Welsh Fairy Book (1908).

The Cantiorix stone was found near the site traditionally known as the 'Graves of the Men of Ardudwy'. The site has been destroyed over time, with little but the line of the Roman road now visible. Antiquarian accounts suggest this was the site of a prehistoric cemetery. The Cantiorix Inscription is a stone grave marker from the early post-Roman era, now located at the church at Penmachno. It is the first known historical reference to the Kingdom of Gwynedd.

The Stones of Ardudwy
Travelling north on the A496 road from Barmouth toward Harlech one soon comes upon the village of Dyffryn Ardudwy situated  at the foot of Moelfre, part of the Rhinogydd range. Signposted from the school it is a short walk from the main road to the twin burial chambers constructed on the west-facing coastal strip of Ardudwy. The site consists of two well preserved cromlechs about 8 metres apart on a platform of white rock, the western most monument is the eldest, estimated to have been built c.3500 BC.

Just a few miles from here is Bron y Foel Isaf Burial Chamber, now badly damaged, the huge capstone and incorporated into a dry stone wall.  This was one of three stones thrown by Arthur from the top of Moelfre. Close by is the stone circle of Waun Hir Ring Cairn. About a mile east of Dyffryn Ardudwy is Cors-y-Gedol Cromlech with just one orthostat precariously supporting the tipped capstone.

Cors-y-Gedol Cromlech 
(Wikimedia Commons)

Travelling further north is the little Welsh village of Llanbedr. Tucked away behind some houses, 120m east of the Afon Artro, are two standing stones known as Meini Hirion. One is a fine menhir, the other looking suspect and rather fragile. Some believe these stones to be the remains of a stone circle, but more likely a single menhir marking a Bronze Age trade route from the sea into the mountains. At the north end of the village is St Peter's Church, tucked away behind the font is a stone about three feet tall with a spiral carving at the top, about 30cm across. Apparently the stone was brought down from a hut circle above Llanbedr.

About a mile and a bit west of Llanbedr is a sandy peninsula of land known as Shell Island (Mochras). In 1819 the 9th Earl of Winchilsea created the present Llandanwg harbour entrance by diverting the river Artro to improve access to the wharf at Pensarn which was the shipment point for slate brought down from Llanfair and Llanbedr. The Artro had previously entered the sea south of Shell Island, the diversion is responsible for creating Morfa Dyffryn sand dunes. The peninsula is said to have been connected to the mythical Cantre'r Gwaelod, the lowland hundred. Accounts variously suggest the tract of land now submerged beneath the sea once extended from Bardsey Island to Cardigan or as far south as Ramsey Island. Legends of the land suggest that it may have extended 20 miles west of the present coast. Although there is no reliable physical evidence for this legendary land under the sea, reports persist of sightings and sounds of the ringing of old church bells.

Sunken Lands
Legend claims that Gwyddno Garanhir (Longshanks) once ruled these lands now submerged beneath Cardigan Bay. Seithenyn, a notorious drunkard, is blamed for the incident as he fell asleep and failed to shut the floodgates causing the inundation of the land. A similar myth persists around the north Wales coast in Llys Helig (Helig's Court) where Elphin found a baby in a fish trap, and named him Taliesin. About seven miles west of Aberystwyth in Cardiganshire, is a collection of stones, named as Caer Wyddno, "the fort or palace of Gwyddno" which Samuel Lewis, claimed in The Topographical Dictionary of Wales (1849), is adjoined by the vestiges of one of more of the more southern causeways or embankments of Cantre'r Gwaelod. Remains of a submerged forest at Borth add fuel to the myth.

Oceanographic map of  Tremadoc Bay
(© Crown copyright)

The "causeways" described by Lewis can still be seen today in Cardigan Bay. Known as 'Sarnau' these ridges stretch several miles out to sea from the coast. Sarn Badrig, or Sarn Padrig ('St. Patrick's Causeway' in Welsh), is the longest and most northerly of these, can be seen at neap tides extending south-westwards under the sea from Mochras Point, on Shell Island for a distance of about 15 miles. There are claims that Sarn Badrig runs all the way to Ireland and St Patrick used it to journey between the two lands. A little further south down the coast is the causeway of Sarn y Bwch, close to Tywyn and just north of Aberystwyth is Sarn Gynfelyn. These causeways are said to be linear shingle reefs of glacial deposits left by receding ice sheets at the end of the last ice age and probably connected to distant memories of the flood.

Further along the coast from Shell Island in the Llandanwg dunes is the historic church of St. Tanwg, said to have been the son of Ithel the Generous of Armorica of the 6th century. The church's position in the sand dunes used to cause it to disappear under the sand each winter whilst it was closed. The present church building is medieval, dating from the 13th century, however there are two 6th century inscribed stones indicating much earlier activity, and it has probably been a place of worship from the early 5th century.

The ancient church is thought to have been founded around 435 AD as part of St. Patrick's communication system between Ireland and Britain, and oddly not so far from the point where Sarn Badrig comes ashore by Mochras Point. But it's all just legend of course!


Copyright © 2014 Edward Watson
http://clasmerdin.blogspot.co.uk/

* * *

Mabon and the Solstice

The Exalted Prisoner
In the Book of Taliesin poem Preiddeu Annwn, 1 and the tales included in Culhwch and Olwen 2 and The Four Branches of the Mabinogi 3 we find the common theme of a raid on the Otherworld involving a magic cauldron and release of an exalted prisoner, with only seven returning in two of the tales.

Preiddeu Annwn is a sea-borne raid to release the exalted prisoner and retrieve the cauldron of the chief of Annwn from the Otherworld by Arthur and his entourage. The first stanza recalls “the prison of Gweir in Kaer Sidi, throughout the account of Pwyll and Pryderi.” Pryderi is one of the seven survivors, along with Arthur and Taliesin, which holds similarities to the tale of Branwen Daughter of Llyr in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi which tells of a raid on Ireland.“The account of Pwyll and Pryderi” features in the First Branch.

Gwydion illustration from the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi

Tales of Mabon
The collection of medieval texts initially edited and translated by Lady Charlotte Guest in the early 19th century was published as “The Mabinogion”, although the name first appears in the Cambrian Register of William Owen Pughe in 1795. However, the term 'Mabinogion' is somewhat of a misnomer yet it has persistently adhered to this collection since Guest popularised it. The collection usually consists of the 'Four Branches of the Mabinogi', 'The Three Romances' and 'Four Native Tales'. Guest's collection also included the Hanes Taliesin. Pughe argued that 'Mabinogion' meant ‘juvenile tales, tales written to while away the time of young chieftains’. However, the term Mabinogi should correctly only be used to describe the Four Branches.4

Although The Four Branches of the Mabinogi are dated c.1060-1120, it is generally accepted that they preserve much older material, remnants from a complete cycle of tales centred on Pryderi, who appears in all four branches although he is not always the central character; Pryderi is born in the First Branch and dies in the Fourth. However, the term “Mabinogi” is usually translated as "tales for youth” derived from "mabon" or "meibon", meaning a boy, young man or youth.

Alternatively, Eric Hamp has argued that the term mabinogi has nothing to do with 'youth' 'boy' or 'son' but is a collective of material pertaining to the ancient deity Maponus, 'the Divine Son', of Matrona 'the Divine Mother'. Thus, the term Mabinogi may also mean "tales of Mabon". Mabon is a character who appears in the native British tales included in Guest's Mabinogion collection; the exalted prisoner in How Culhwch won Olwen and briefly in The Dream of Rhonabwy, as one of the chief counsellors of Britain.

Hamp concludes, that the Mabinogi is so-called because it contains material derived from myths of the earlier Brythonic deities, such as those reflected in the names Rhiannon, 'the Divine Queen,' and Teyrnon, 'the Divine King' of the First Branch.5

Rhiannon and Pwyll have a son which is stolen. The boy is found in  in a stable in another part of the country by Terynon, who named him Gwri Golden Hair (Gwri Gwallt Euryn) and is raised away from his family, his true identity unknown. The boy grew at an alarming rate, and when his foster father Terynon went to Pwyll for another matter he realized that this was the missing son of Pwyll and Rhiannon, at which point he was returned to court and his name changed from Gwri to Pryderi. If we accept Hamp's argument then the abducted child Gwri/Pryderi of the Four Branches is synonymous with Mabon.

The Prisoner of  Caer Loyw
Also included in the Mabinogion compilation is the tale of 'How Culhwch won Olwen', the oldest Arthurian tale. Culhwch is the most archaic text in the Mabinogion collection and one of the most important texts in the study of the Arthurian cycle. In this tale we again find Mabon, stolen from his mother when three days old, and held prisoner at Caer Loyw, (Gloucester), said to mean the of "city of light." He can only be found by asking the oldest animal. Mabon is said to be a great hunter and his release is essential in hunting the supernatural boar Twrch Trwyth.6

The Black Book of Carmarthen poem 'Pa gur yv y Porthaur?' (What man is the gate-keeper?), is told as a dialogue between Arthur, the leader of a war band, and Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr the porter (gate-keeper), bearing close parallels to Culhwch's attempt to enter Arthur's court.7 The listing of Arthur's warriors in Pa Gur includes Mabon fab Mydron (Modron) described as a "servant to Uther Pendragon" and later includes Mabon fab Mellt, (Son of Ligntning), usually interpreted as the same Mabon (Maponus, the divine son) but with the added patronymic of his father Mellt (Meldius).8

The magical prisoner motif found in How Culhwch Won Olwen continues in Tryoedd Ynys Prydein (Triads of the Isle of Britain), where Mabon son of Modron is one of the Three Exalted Prisoners of the Island of Britain along with Llyr Half-Speech and the third Gweir son of Geirioedd.  Evidently, this account has its roots in the same story of Mabon being stolen from his mother when three nights old in Culhwch.9

Just to throw further confusion on the matter,in Culhwch, Arthur's four uncles of are invoked and all named Gweir: Gweir Dathar the Servitor, and Gweir son of Cadellin Silver-brow, and Gweir Falsevalour, and Gweir White-shaft. But oddly Mabon does not feature in the Court List in Culhwch.10

The captive held as the Exhalted Prisoner, who's release is central throughout these ancient native tales, is always named either Mabon or Gweir. This is essentially the same account that features in Preiddeu Annwn, Culhwch and Olwen and The Four Branches of the Mabinogi. W J Gruffydd 11 has argued, convincingly, that Mabon's role as the abducted prisoner is synonymous with Pryderi/Gweir (Gwri Gwallt Euryn of the The First Branch). Clearly, Pryderi/Gweir/Mabon all appear to derive from a common origin.

Maponus
Mabon ap Modron is a prominent figure from Welsh literature and mythology, the son of Modron and a member of Arthur's war band. Both he and his mother were likely deities in origin, descending from a divine mother-son pairing. His name is related to the Romano-British god Maponus, whose name means "Divine Son"; Modron, in turn, is seemingly related to the Gaulish goddess Dea Matrona, the “Divine Mother”, the goddess of the river Marne in Gaul.12

kouros

As Maponus he is seen as the personification of youth. The epitome of a beardless, athletic youth, thought to represent the Olympian deity Apollo, is seen in the kouros sculptures dating from the Archaic period in Greece. Unsurprisingly, Maponus became identified with Apollo; one depiction identifies him with Apollo the Harper, but mediaeval tradition also identifies him (i.e. Mabon) as the greatest hunter in Britain, and probably also reflects Apollo's role as a hunter, Apollo Cunomaglus, literally “Hound Lord" the epithet of a Celtic god attested in south-west Britain. In the traditionally Celtic lands, Apollo was most often seen as a god of healing and the sun. He was often equated with Celtic gods of similar character, leading to a local fusion of Apollo and Maponus; Apollo Maponus is a deity known from inscriptions in Britain.

We find epigraphic evidence for the Romano-British Maponus and Matrona cults chiefly in the north of Britain and well developed in regions around Hadrian’s Wall. The cult  is attested at Brampton, Corbridge (ancient Coria), Ribchester (In antiquity, Bremetenacum Veteranorum) and Chesterholm (in antiquity, Vindolanda), such as Deo Mapono (to the god Maponos).

Place-name evidence also attests to Maponus in Northern Britain; The survival of the Mabon tradition in the area in post-Roman times is indicated by the village name Lochmaben in Dumfriesshire and the place-name Clochmabenstane near Gretna. The 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography cites 'Locus Maponi' or "the place of Maponos", thought to be between Lochmaben and Lockerbie.13

Mabon and the Solstice
There are many concordances in the story of Mabon but it is of no coincidence that the Romans equated Maponus with Apollo, a god of light and the sun.

The period of three days imprisonment appears to be significant in the tales of Mabon and the Exalted Prisoner; in Culhwch Mabon was taken from his mother when three nights old but is found and released from his prison. In a later, expanded version of the Triad, the Three Exalted Prisoners of the Island of Britain, Arthur is included as an Exalted Prisoner who spent three nights in Caer Oeth and Anoeth in an enchanted prison under the Stone of Echymeint before he was released by Goreu, son of Custennin, his cousin.14 Both Mabon and Arthur being imprisoned for three days then released.

Significantly, the tale of How Culhwch Won Olwen starts on 1st January; it can be of little coincidence that this is the time of the mid-winter solstice, the shortest days of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the time when the sun appears to stop its journey along the horizon before it swings-back and heads toward the mid-summer solstice, the longest day; imprisoned for three days then released.

The word solstice is derived from the Latin 'sol' (sun) and 'sistere' (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun appears to stands still and its path comes to a stop before reversing direction.  At the mid-winter solstice the ancients considered that the sun had actually died but the sun never actually stops moving, simply the closer it gets to the solstice point the slower it appears to move. The exact time of the solstice is not easy to determine, the movement of the sun along the horizon being hardly detectable with the naked eye when it's moving at its slowest; observations would need to be made over a period of several days to determine the swing-back point when the Sun begins to return to the Northern Hemisphere.

Mid-winter in the northern hemisphere occurs on 21 or 22 December, when the sun appears to standstill for three days before daylight begins to increase again. It can be of no coincidence that three days after the solstice the celebration of the new Solar year begins, a celebration we now call Christmas.

Mid-Winter Solstice  sunrise at Newgrange

The solstice itself may have been a special moment of the annual cycle of the year even during Neolithic times attested by physical remains in the layouts of late Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological sites, such as Stonehenge in Britain and Newgrange in Ireland. The primary axes of both of these monuments seem to have been carefully aligned to the mid-winter solstice sunrise (Newgrange) and the mid-winter solstice sunset (Stonehenge). In Irish mythology we find the nearest parallel to Mabon/Maponus is Óengus mac ind-Óg, the 'Son of Youth'. Óengus resides in the Neolithic chambered tomb of Brú na Bóinne (Newgrange), which is well known for the illumination of its passage and chamber by the light of the mid-winter Solstice sunrise.

In recent times Mabon has become associated with the autumn equinox in September since Aidan Kelly attached it to the Neopagan calendar around 1970. But I can find no evidence for an autumnal Maponus or justification for this deity's association with the late summer harvest.

Mabon/Maponus, and his various identities discussed above, notably the association with Apollo the sun god, should be attached to the mid-winter solstice without doubt. At solstice the sun literally 'stands still' on the horizon for three days before it is 'released' and recommences its journey through the solar year, as in the tale of the Exalted Prisoner. Any celebration of Mabon should surely be held at the mid-winter solstice.

Mabon, the Divine Son of the Divine Mother, reborn three days after the mid-winter solstice; sound familiar?


© Edward Watson 2013
http://clasmerdin.blogspot.co.uk/


Notes & References
1. Marged Haycock, Legendary Poems from the Book of Taliesin, CMCS Publications, 2007.
2. Rachel Bromwich & D. Simon Evans, Culhwch and Olwen, University of Wales Press, 1992.
3. Sioned Davies, The Mabinogion, Oxford University Press, 2008.
4. Proinsias Mac Cana, The Mabinogi, University of Wales Press, 1977.
5. Eric P. Hamp, Mabinogi,Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, 1974–1975, pp.243–249.
6. Bromwich & Evans, Culhwch.
7. Patrick Sims-Williams in ‘The Early Welsh Arthurian Poems’, in Rachel Bromwich et al, The Arthur of the Welsh: Arthurian Legend in Mediaeval Welsh Literature, University of Wales Press, 1991,  pp. 33-71.
8. Proinsias Mac Cana, Celtic Mythology, Bounty Books, 1992.
9. Rachel Bromwich, Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain, University of Wales Press; Third Revised Edition, 2006.
10. Morris Collins, The Arthurian Court List in Culhwch and Olwen, The Camelot Project, 2004 .
11. WJ Gruffydd, Rhiannon: An Inquiry into the Origins of the First and Third Branches of the
Mabinogi. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1953.
12. Mac Cana, Celtic Mythology.
13. John T Koch, Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, 2006.
14. Mary Jones, The Welsh Triads - Llyfr Coch Hergest, from the Celtic Literature Collective

* * *

Math's Tale

LUD'S CHURCH (IX)

Or the tops of its whirling trees?
Who bends them so crooked?
Or what fumes may be
About their stems?
Is it Lleu and Gwydyon
That perform their arts? [1]

The Fourth Branch: The Mabinogi of Math

So the story goes.......

Pryderi son of Pwyll was lord over 21 cantrefs in the South, which included seven of Dyfed, Math son of Mathonwy was lord of Gwynedd in the North, and resided at Caer Dathyl in Arfon. Math needed to rest his feet in the lap of a maiden called Goewin when not at war, or patrolling his lands with his nephews Gilfaethwy and Gwydion sons of Don.

Gilfaethwy had fallen in love with Gowein who was Math’s constant companion at Caer Dathyl, to such a degree that he was wasting away. Gwydion told Gilfaethwy not to speak as Math could hear whatever whisper, however small, that there might be between people, once it was carried on the wind, he said he knew what was on Gilfaethwy’s mind so they would hatch a plot to get Goewin on her own.

So they went to Math and told him that Pryderi son of Pwyll, had some hogs sent to him from Annwfn by Arawn, Lord of the Otherworld. These small animals, now known as pigs, had meat better than the meat of oxen. Gwydion said he would go in a group of twelve, disguised as bards, and ask for the pigs. So Gwydion went, with Gilfaethwy and ten men with them, to Ceredigion to the court of Pryderi, the place nowadays called Rhuddlan Teifi.

They persuaded Pryderi to lend them his magical hogs from Annwfn in return for twelve horses, hounds and shields that Gwydion had created by magic from toadstools, but they had to move swiftly as the magic will not last from one day to the next. By the time they were home in Gwynedd the spell had worn off and Pryderi was in pursuit with an army and Math was on his way to meet him. That night with Math out of the way, Gwydion and Gilfaethwy returned to Caer Dathyl. The maidens were forced out rudely and Goewin was put to sleep with Gilfaethwy against her will. Gwydion returned for the battle at Maenawrs Bennardd and Coed Alun, where Pryderi was forced to retreat. He then challenged Gwydion to single combat and was killed, and buried at Maen Tyriawg.

On Math’s return to Caer Dathyl, Gowein told him of her ravishment by Gilfaethwy. As punishment Math used magic to turn Gwydion and Gilfaethwy into stags, boars and wolves of opposite sexes for a year each. After they had spent three years in the forest mating each other and between them giving birth to one faun, piglet and wolf-cub, which Math then turned into humans called Bleiddwn, Hyddwn & Hychdwn Hir, they were then forgiven.

Math now had to find a new foot maiden, Gwydion and Gilfaethwy suggested their sister Aranrhod daughter of Don, but she failed Math’s virginity test whilst stepping over his magic wand and dropped a curly yellow haired boy, and then dropped a small something as she ran for the door, which Gwydion picked up before anyone could see it and then hid in a chest at the foot of his bed. Math said he would name the curly yellow haired boy Dylan. As soon as the boy was baptized he made for the sea, where he took on the nature of the sea. He could swim as well as the best fish in the sea, and for that reason he was called 'Dylan Prince of the Wave', as no wave ever broke beneath him. The blow by which his death came about was cast by Govannon, his uncle, deemed one of the Three Ill-Fated Blows.

As Gwydion was waking up in his bed one day, he heard a cry in the chest at his feet. Although it wasn't loud, it was loud enough for him to hear it. He quickly got up and opened the chest. As he opened it, he could see a little boy. He took him to a woman in the town who could feed him; he then grew at twice the normal rate.

One day, he followed Gwydion outside for a walk and they made for Caer Aranrhod. Upon his arrival at the court, Aranrhod got up to meet him and make him welcome. When Gwydion introduced the four-year-old to his embarassed mum Aranrhod she cursed him to have no name but one given by her. Next day Gwydion conjured up a ship out of sea-weed and dulse, then he conjured dovan leather in gold. He and the boy then disguised a shoemakers sailed the boat, to Caer Aranrhod. While making shoes for Aranrhod, suddenly, there was a wren alighting on the deck of the boat. The boy took aim and hit it between the sinew and the bone of its leg. Aranrhod laughed, 'God knows,' said she 'the fair one strikes it with a skilful hand’. Gwydion then said ‘he has obtained a name, and the name is good enough "Lleu Skillful Hand" he will be from now on.'

Aranrhod then cursed the boy to never bear arms until equipped by herself. So this time Gwydion disguised them both himself and Lleu as bards to enter her castle and created by magic an illusion of a fleet attacking them. In panic Aranrhod armed them both with weapons, without knowing arming her son herself.

Aranrhod placed a third curse on Lleu that he should never have a wife "of the race that is now on this earth". Gwydion and Math together conjured with their magic to create a woman out of flowers, and named her Blodeuedd. Lleu married her and moved to Cantref Dinoding where he ruled from Mur Castell in region of Ardudwy.

One day while Lleu was away visiting Math at Caer Dathyl, Gronw Pebyr, Lord of Penllyn, was hunting a stag, At the River Cynfael, he caught up with the stag and killed it. He was busy flaying the stag and baiting his hounds until the night closed in on him. And as the sun went down, and the night drew near, he came past the gate of the court and Blodeuedd put him up for the night. They at once fell in love, and planned to kill Lleu so they could be together. When Lleu returned Blodeuedd pretended to be worried if Lleu were to be killed, so she tricked him into telling her how his death may come about. Lleu said he could only be killed with a spear made over a year during Sunday Masses, and he cannot be killed inside a house, nor outside and he cannot be killed on horseback or on foot. Lleu added that this could be achieved by making a bath for him by the side of a river, making a curved, slatted roof over the tub, and thatching well and without any gaps. And bringing a buck, and putting it next to the tub, and him putting one of his feet on the buck's back, and the other one on the side of the tub. Whoever would strike him while he is like that would bring about his death.

As soon as she had the information, Gronw started to make the spear and a year later Blodeuedd persuaded Lleu to give a demonstration by the River Cynfael. Gronw who was in hiding in the shadow of the hill Bryn Kyfegyr jumped oyt when Lleu was in position and cast the poison spear and struck him on the side, with the shaft protruding out of him and the head stuck inside. Lleu, screamed and took flight in the form of an eagle, and after that they lost sight of him. Gronw took Lleu’s lands so that Ardudwy and Penllyn were both under his command.

When Math heard of this, Gwydion said he would never rest until he found his nephew. He searched all Gwynedd and the far reaches of Powys for Lleu, finally coming to a swineherd in Maenawr Benardd in Arfon who had a sow that went out everyday when the sty is opened, it not being possible to get a hold of her, he did not know where she goes.

The next day as the swine-herd saw the light of day, he woke Gwydion, as soon as the swine-herd opened the sty, the sow launched herself out of the sty, she roamed far and wide, with Gwydion following her. She went up-stream, making for a valley and then started grazing beneath a tree.

Gwydion came under the tree, and looked for what the sow was grazing on. He could see the sow was grazing on rotting flesh and maggots. He looked up into the top of the tree, where he could see an eagle in the top of the tree. When the eagle shook himself, worms and rotting flesh fell from him, which the sow was devouring.

It occurred to him that the eagle was Lleu and he sung an englyn:

‘An oak grows between two pools,
Dark-black branches sky and glen
If I do not tell a lie
From the flowers of Lleu this has come!’

The eagle came down until he was in the middle of the tree.
Gwydion sang another englyn:

‘An oak grows upon a high plain
Rain neither wets it, nor drips upon it
Nine-score strikes has it endured
In its top, Lleu Skillful-Hand’

And then the eagle came down to the lowest branch of the tree.
Then Gwydion sang this englyn:

Grows an oak upon a steep
The sanctuary of fair lord
Unless I speak falsely:
Lleu will come down into my lap

The eagle he fell onto Gwydion’s knee; and then Gwydion struck him with his magic wand, and Lleu turned back into his own form. He was nothing but skin and bones. Gwydion took him to Caer Dathyl, where the best doctors that could be found in Gwynedd were brought to nurse Lleu back to health before the end of the year.

Math and Gwydion set about getting justice for Lleu, so they mustered Gwynedd and marched on Mur Castell. On hearing this Blodeuedd and her maidens and made for the mountain, across the River Cynfael, so scared running backwards, they fell into the lake and all drowned except herself.

Gwydion told Blodeuedd that he would not kill her, but even worse, because of the shame that she brought upon Lleu Llaw Gyffes, he would turn her into an owl so that she will not dare to show her face in the light of day ever again, and for all of enmity all other birds will harass her and despise her wherever she may go. And he renamed her “Bloddeuwedd”, meaning owl.
Lleu's punishment for Gronw was to return the spear cast from the same river bank. But his men refused to take the spear for him, because of this his men are called One of The Three Disloyal Warbands. Gronw was permitted to put a stone from the bank of the river between himself and the blow from the spear.

Lleu cast the spear at him; it pierced though the stone, through Gornw and broke his back. Gronw Pebyr died, and there the stone with a hole through it, 'The Stone of Gronw', is still to be seen on the bank of the River Cynfael in Ardudwy

Lleu Skillful Hand regained his land, and according to the tradition, he was lord of Gwynedd thereafter.

Thus ends this branch of the Mabinogi.

>> Part X - The Enchantment of Gwynedd <<

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Notes:

1. The First Address of Taliesin, from The Book of Taliesin I, The Four Ancient Books of Wales, W F Skene.
2. This is not meant as a literal translation of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, more a summary taking into account the various very good modern translations readily available, for example Will Parker, Sioned Davies, John K Bollard and Patrick K Ford.

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Songs from the Sons of Llyr

LUD'S CHURCH (VIII)

"I have been in the battle of Godeu, with Lleu and Gwydion,
they changed the form of the elementary trees and sedges" [1]
Lleuelys
As we have seen in Part VII - Lludd’s Dragons, the three elements of the independent Welsh tale Lludd & Lleuelys (Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys), echo the same features of the Irish tale of The Second Battle of Mag Tuired: sovereignty; force; fruitfulness. In this Irish tale Naudu Airgetlam, The King of the Tuatha De Danann, has lost kingship, the new King Bres tyrannises the people, the warriors have become powerless, and the fertility has been contravened by giving the harvest as tribute. In Lludd & Lleuelys, the three plagues have brought the same inflictions: The Coraniaid have effectively tyrannised the people with their magical powers of hearing; The May eve scream has reduced the strength of the warriors; food not eaten on the first night of the feast in the king’s court, a year’s provision, disappears. French scholar George Dumezil suggests the three plagues that menace human society are an archaic formulation, which he refers to as The Ancient Tripartite. [2]

According to John Koch the name Llefelys appears to be a compound, the first element being the same as Welsh Lleu, Old Irish Lugh, Celiberian and Gaulish Lugus.

Koch states: “The etymology of the second element is less apparent. Having recognised the fact that the common origin of the supernatural figures Old Irish Naudu, the Welsh Nudd and the Roman-British Nodons, the Irish mythology surrounding the figure Naudu confirms that Llefelys is to be connected with the Irish Lug in character as well as name.

...Elements of the Welsh story Lludd & Llefelys resonate with the features of the story of Naudu and Lug, the prinicipal of source being The Second Battle of Mag Tuired. Like Naudu, Lludd's kingdom is blighted by oppressors, including a failure of the food supply and fertility in both cases. Lug comes to aid Naudu as does Llefelys with Lludd to restore the kingdom.

Lleuelis the usual spelling in White Book and Red Book texts of the Cyfranc modernised as Llefelys. Ford writes this as Modern welsh Lleuelys, emphasing the connection with Lleu the central figure of the Math mab Mathonwy and counterpart of Lug.” [3]

Patrick Ford therefore uses the name, in modern Welsh, Lleuelys, in place of Llefelys [4] to emphase the connection with Lleu the central figure of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, Math mab Mathonwy [5]. Some might query the form Lleuelys where most modern Welsh scholars give Llefelys. However, Lleuelis is the usual spelling in White Book of Rhydderch and Red Book of Hergest texts of the Cyfranc, modernised as Llefelys. The Red Book manuscript Column 705 gives Cyfranc Llud a Lleuelis. [6]

In both versions of the story, The Second Battle of Mag Tuired and Llud a Lleuelis the three elements are restored by the respective arrivals of Lug and Lleu; both cognate with the name Lugus.

Lleu Llaw Gyffes
The name Lleu appears in Welsh literature as Lleu Llaw Gyffes, the same figure from the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, Math, son of Mathonwy. In addition to the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi the name Lleu appears in four Triads, the Book of Taliesin and in the Stanza of the Graves from the Black Book of Carmarthen, the epithet usually always attached to the name is LLaw Gyffes.

There are two variants to this name in Welsh, Lleu/Llew, the former is the original as revealed by the rhyme scheme in at least two poems; one in the Mabinogi of Math in the first three stanza sung by Gwydion to Lleu while he is in the form of an eagle, the other from the Book of Taliesin. Although the spelling Llew is more common in Mabinogi texts, probably having arisen from the ambiguities of early welsh spelling and manuscript errors, this is sometimes translated as the “Lion with the Steady Hand” which is quite incorrect as the naming of Lleu Llaw Gyffes is revealed in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi.

The Mabinogion
Probably the most popular version, and certainly the first in English, of the Mabinogion was produced by Lady Charlotte Guest in the 19th Century. Lady Guest, an English woman, married John Josiah Guest, a Welshman born in Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, and owner of the Dowlais Iron Company. During her time in Wales she studied literature and learned Welsh, going on to translate medieval songs and poems, and eventually the misnamed Mabinogion. Guest noted the word “mabynnogyon” in one manuscript which she took for a plural and applied to the whole collection of twelve tales. The word "mabinogion" does not exist in Welsh, it therefore probably being a copyist error to be found only at the end of the First Branch, the Mabinogi of Pwyll.
The word Mabinogi only correctly applies to the first four tales, known as the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. Various editions of the Mabinogion generally follow Guest, but can sometimes omit The Story of Taliesin (Hanes Taliesin) making the collection of only eleven tales.

Lady Guest’s Mabinogion became the first translation of the material to be published, being printed in several volumes between 1838 and 1849, containing in addition to the Four Branches of the Mabinogi the so called Welsh Romances containing Arthurian material. The popularity of the tales continues today with modern versions continuing to be produced and although scholars may quibble over the translations of some words, content generally stays true to Guest’s work. [7]

The Three Romances:
Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain
Peredur, son of Efrawg
Gereint and Enid (sometimes called Gereint son of Erbin)

The three romances bear some resemblance to Chrétien de Troyes 12th century tales, respectively Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, Perceval or the Story of the Grail, and Erec and Enide. There is some debate between scholars as to which came first, the Welsh Romances or Chrétien de Troyes tales. The Romances survive in the White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest, both from the fourteenth century, but contain much Celtic material which is considered at least as old as Chrétien, if not older. Chrétien may have based his tales on Breton material which may offer some explanation to the similarity of the sources. Roger Sherman Loomis presents a formidable case for the Celtic roots of the Grail story. [8]

The Native Tales:
Culhwch ac Olwen
The Dream of Rhonabwy
The Dream of Mascen Wledig
Lludd and Llefelys
Hanes Taliesin

Lady Guest also included in her anthology these five native tales; Culhwch ac Olwen contains much early Arthurian material and echoes the raid on the otherworld as depicted in the early Arthurian poem The Spoils of Annwfn. The court list in Culhwch ac Olwen is of particular interest as it features figures like Lludd Llaw Eraint and Gwynn ap Nudd which seem to be based on the mythological Children of Don, Welsh counterpart of the Irish Tuatha De Danann.

The Dream of Rhonabwy is one of the later tales included in the Mabinogion, composed in the second half of the 12th Century but has interested scholars because it preserves much older Arthurian traditions. The tale takes place in a vision that came to Rhonabwy during a dream. On the road, Rhonabwy meets one Iddawg, one of Arthur's messengers at the Battle of Camlann, who escorts Rhonabwy through the dreamscape, patiently answering all his questions. A colophon at the end of the tale states that no one can recite the work in full without a book, as the amount of detail is too great for the memory alone.

The tale The Dream of Macsen Wledig is a romanticized story about the Roman Commander Magnus Maximus, proclaimed Emperor by his army in Britain in AD 383, after recovering Britain from incursions by the Picts and Scots in AD 381. Maximus, in pursuit of his imperial ambitions, took his troops to Gaul and defeated the Emperor Gratian, but was executed by Theodosius five years later. Maximus is criticised by Gildas and the Historia Brittonum for took the bulk of the Roman British Garrison to the continent and left the country undefended at the mercy of foreign invaders. Although Hispanic by birth, Maximus became an important figure and appears in many medieval Welsh dynasties.

Hanes Taliesin, sometimes known as the Ystoria Taliesin, or Chwedl Taliesin is a later piece, not included in the Red or White Books, which although included by Lady Guest more recent translations tend to omit from the Mabinogion. It is a mixture of Welsh prose and poetry, about and supposedly by Taliesin, though none of these poems are found in the Llyfr Taliesin. The earliest text is found in Elis Gruffydd’s Chronicle of the Six Ages of the World compiled during the first half of the sixteenth century. There are over twenty manuscripts of Ystoria Taliesin many of which only contain the first part, The Tale of Gwion Bach, set in the days of the legendary King Arthur, dealing with a witch, a magical brew and shape shifting. Patrick Ford comments that the tales wonder and magic remind us of Culhwch and Olwen. The second part, The Tale of Taliesin, has few of those qualities, and although the two parts are chronologically consecutive, they are worlds apart. [9]

The Four Branches of the Mabinogi
It is important to differentiate between the Mabinogion, the collection of tales based on Guest’s anthology and the Four Branches of the Mabinogi (Pedeir Keinc y Mabinogi) which contain only the following:

First Branch: Pwyll Prince of Dyfed
Second Branch: Branwen Daughter of Llyr
Third Branch: Manawydan son of Llyr
Fourth Branch: Math son of Mathonwy

The most mythological stories contained in the Mabinogion collection are the four interrelated tales, from a single storyteller, titled The Mabinogi in the manuscripts, or often "The Four Branches of the Mabinogi". The word Branch is the common translation of the word keinc and the title generally given to the four tales. A second meaning for keinc can be “strand or yarn (of a rope)” resulting in the possibility of intentionally interconnected episodes linked throughout a relationship of the subject matter. [10]
Although The Four Branches of the Mabinogi are dated c.1060-1120, it is generally thought that they preserve much older material, remnants from a complete cycle of tales centred on Pryderi, who appears in all four branches, though not always as a central character, is born in the First Branch and dies in the Fourth. The word “mabinogi” is usually translated as "tales for youth," or "tales of the hero", derived from "mabon" or "meibon", meaning a boy, young man or youth.

This mythological cycle is betrayed by the name of the key characters; Rhiannon has her roots in the goddess Rigantona, (Great Queen Goddess) and Pryderi is considered to have his roots in the British god Maponus (Mabon), with much material comparable to the ancient Irish sagas, although written in Early Christian society of twelfth-century Wales the Four Branches of the Mabinogi contains tales of figures from the British Celtic mythological cycle; The Children of Don and the Children of Llyr, pagan cultures from prehistoric Britain.

Therefore the term Mabinogi may also mean "tales of Mabon" derived from the name this god, Mabon ap Modron, (The Divine Son of the Divine Mother) who was stolen at three days old, and is named in the Triads as one of The Three Exalted Prisoners of the Island of Britain. It has been suggested that the Four Branches may have originally been an account of the birth, disappearance and restoration of Pryderi, which is another name for the British god Maponus, god of youth and rebirth, whose imprisonment and release plays a significant role in Culhwch and Olwen. [11]

There is further evidence of this lost mythological cycle; Pryderi also appears in the Welsh tale Preiddiau Annwfn (Spoils of Annwfn), in which Arthur attempts to steal a magic cauldron from Annwfn (The Otherworld). Pryderi is one of the seven survivors, along with Arthur and Taliesin, which holds similarities to the tale of Branwen Daughter of Llyr in the Second Branch.

The First Branch, sometimes called The Mabinogi of Pwyll is set in Dyfed, South West Wales, tells the story of Rhiannon the horse goddess, connected with birds and the Otherworld. Pwyll, endures a succession of magical trials before emerging as the 'Head of Annwfn'. He then becomes the consort of the Great Queen; she then gives birth to the hero Pryderi. Pryderi, whose departure and revival form the conclusion of thee First Branch, epitomise an important connection to the other Branches.

In The Second Branch, or Mabinogi of Branwen, the mythical Sons of Llyr appear as the leading dynasty among the tribes of Britain before the ascendancy of the Sons of Beli Mawr.
Bran, or Bendigeidfran, leads an ill-fated journey to Ireland to avenge his sister, Branwen. On the return from this expedition, carrying the living, talking head of Bran the seven survivors find that Caswallan the son of Beli, has seized control of the Island in their absence.

The Third Branch, The Mabinogi of Manawydan, the consequences from the events of the first two branches is recounted by Manawydan son of Llyr, Pryderi son of Pwyll, his mother Rhiannon and his wife Cigfa residing in a bare land devoid of human habitation, the traditional Wasteland myth. The restoration of the Enchantment of Dyfed comes when Manawydan, through knowledge and scheming, outwits the magical influence which brought about his downfall, and banishes its influence from Dyfed for ever.

The Fourth Branch, The Mabinogi of Math, features the story of Lleu who is forced to overcome the curse of his mother after he is conceived in dubious circumstances; she determines he shall not receive neither a name, a weapon, or a wife. With the assistance of his uncle, the magician Gwydion, son of Don, he succeeds in overcoming this triple curse. Gwydion and Math magically create a woman for Lleu, conjuring her out of wild flowers. She falls in love with Gronw Pebyr and betrays him; they attempt to kill Lleu, who turns into an eagle. Gwydion finds him in a tree top and restores him to health.

>> Part IX - Math's Tale <<

Notes:
1. This poem, untitled but usually referred to as Song Before the Sons of Llyr ("Kerdd Veib am Llyr"), Book of Taliesin, XIV, Four Ancient Books of Wales by Skene, attributed to Taliesin, brings together several mythological themes, the Cauldron of Cerridwen, the Cauldron of Bran, the Cauldron of Annwn, with allusions to the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, the battles between the Children of Don and the Children of Llyr: Pryderi, Manawyddan, Bran, and Gwydion. It also refers to Cad Goddeu, (the Battle of the Trees), and Caer Siddi, the mythical city from which Arthur and his retinue steal the Cauldron of Annwn in the Prieddu Annwn, (Spoils of Annfwn), "Save seven, none returned from Caer Siddi" - both poems also found in the Book of Taliesin. Taliesin also appears as one of the seven survivors, along with Manawyddan, Pryderi, from the Battle of Ireland in Branwen Daughter of Llyr, The Second Branch of the Mabinogi; “Now the seven men that escaped were Pryderi, Manawyddan, Gluneu Eil Taran, Taliesin, Ynawc, Grudyen the son of Muryel, and Heilyn the son of Gwynn Hen.”
2. George Dumezil discusses the tale and shows that the three plagues that menace human society are an archaic formulation in Mythe et Epopee I, 1968, pp.613-623, - referred to in The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales by Patrick K Ford, pp. 111-112.
3. Celtic Culture, A Historical Encyclopedia By John T. Koch, ABC-CLIO, 2006, pp 1164 – 1166
4. The Mabinogi and other Medieval Welsh Tales by Patrick K Ford, University of California Press, 2nd Revised 30th Anniversary Edition 2008, p.111.
5. John T. Koch, 2006, Ibid. pp 1164 – 1166.
6. “Col. 705. ILyma gyfranc llud a lleuelis” - The given text represents the entry for the Llyfr Coch Hergest in Cymraeg Canol (middle Cymric).as given in the Historical Manuscripts Commission, Report on manuscripts in the Welsh language, vol. II part I, (London, 1902).
See >> Red Book of Hergest at Celtnet
7. For good, readable recent editions in modern English see: The Mabinogi and other Medieval Welsh Tales by Patrick K Ford, University of California Press, 2nd Revised 30th Anniversary Edition 2008; The Mabinogion by Sioned Davies, Oxord University Press 2007; The Four Branches of the Mabinogi by Will Parker, Bardic press 2007; The Mabinogi by John K Bollard, Gomer Press 2006.
8. The Grail: From Celtic Myth to Christian Symbol by Roger Sherman Loomis, Cardiff University Press, First Edition, 1963. One reviewer says “In terms of serious scholarship, there has been little that supersedes or countervenes this work from a major Authuriad scholar at the height of his powers.”
9. Patrick K Ford, Ibid, p.159.
10. The Mabinogion by Sioned Davies, Oxord University Press 2007, p.232.
11. “Hamp states that mabinogi "has nothing to do with 'youth' or 'boy, son'. It is a collective of an adjective denoting what pertains to a stem *mapono-; in [this] context its relevance to Maponos is immediately clear. The derivative *mapon-āk-ijīmeant 'the (collective) material pertaining to (those of ) Maponos'." Maponos 'the Divine Son', son of Matrona 'the Divine Mother'is represented in early Middle Welsh poetry and in the earliest Arthurian tale, How Culhwch Got Olwen, as Mabon son of Modron. Thus, The Mabinogi is so-called, Hamp concludes, because it deals with material derived from myths of the earlier Brythonic deities, who are also reflected in the names Rhiannon, 'the Divine Queen,' and Teyrnon, 'the Divine King.' And there are, of course, other characters of mythological origin in The Mabinogi. (The name Maponos/Mabon derives ultimately from the same root as that of mab; the -on indicates divinity in all these names.)” – “What is The Mabinogi? What is "The Mabinogion"? - John K Bollard.
See >> Mabinogi and Archaism, Celtica 23 by Eric P Hamp [PDF file]

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